Category Archives: Proposal writing

How to Write a Research Project Proposal – An MBA standard.

Academic assignments are very unpredictable. Thorough research is needed when you work on the assignment, especially for MBA students. While writing an essay in general, it would be very easy but there would be complications arising from doing a project proposal assignment. This research project proposal assignment/presentation is merely done with high concentration and detailing the fact for a particular subject when its dealt.

When choosing this type of particular project and presenting it in the group, this will take the students to do an in-depth study of topic or subject which is organizational, professional aspect, and social relevance to understanding. It is required to identify the specific business management problem that you’re discussing and need to overview it.

As a part of the presentation that takes, you’re required to present the project management plan for conducting the proposed study. It should be realistic and be like achievable with a timeframe.

You’re required to choose a small pilot study to conduct the methods.

    1. Introduction:

In the introduction, you need to explain what the project/assignment about. Do remember, if it’s presented in a group, make sure you introduce the team and their specific roles in the project.

You have to start with a standout point, like what’s the business management problem and giving away the evidence for the project. You’ve to explain why the evidence is based on the management practices and it’s important for practitioners to process skills to plan & conduct research as part of your practice. Note that, the assignment takes it to be a research project proposal only. Give the aim of the assignment like any developments needed regarding that.

    2. Identifying of Research Project Question:

Outline the research project problem that you identified and explain why it’s important to get a deeper understanding  of “why this type of problem” and “why researching this problem will provide management with the decision-making process.”

    3. Literature review – theories follow the topic:

Having identified the problem, you need to explain why the problem is significant. You need to search & retrieve relevant information to understand “what should be known.” List the search engines searches that justify their use. While the literature review may start with the literature in a general topic area, but you should end with a focus on your specific problem and it’s the outcome.

And then, outline “what is known” that leads to your research question. You do not need to develop the new theory, just determine the previously existing ones as – “how they can solve the problem” or “how their theory explains the problem.”

    4. Methodologies:

Research methods are various ways and strategies may use to testify the theories stated. Research methods provide the platform to map out the process of carrying out of one’s research. These methods are classified into 3:

  1. First, it constitutes the method through what/which data collected.
  2. Secondly, the statistical methods which employed the link between data collected and problem in hand.
  3. Third, the group used to assess how accurate are the results obtained after analysis.

Including the research methods like surveys, questionnaires, case studies, interviews… etc, are taken for support for the assigned project can also be stated with clear and concise.

You can also write the quantitative reseach design, explaining by the numerical data collected in research that objectifies the research proposed project.

    5. Results:

Give the alternatives for the research project proposal, apart from the existing theories that relate to solving a problem or what can be developed further.

    6. References:

You must present a list of specific references for the project that whatever formatting style you prefer as such APA, MLA… or under guidelines of University. 

    7. Conclusion:

The selection of appropriate research methods along with the theories that extracted, you will bring out the useful information which adds to the knowledge base and helps in proposal project research.

With these methods and structure format,  we can conduct thorough research on every topic you choose before writing. As for the academic scholars, researchers, and amateurs writers, this particular study of conduct is very useful to follow and finish the project in the timeframe as well as in the formatting styles or under particular sort of University guidelines that one ask for and preview them indeed.

How to kill writer’s block and get going with your research document?

Writing a flawless research document is difficult and stressful. This, coupled with the dreadful due date, peer review, etc. can paralyze you and stop you from pouring your thoughts. Writer’s block is not about not knowing what to write but is all about the fear of not being able to craft a perfect research document. Writer’s block happens to every writer (especially the first time writers) and is invertible. But taking measures to overcome it can help you increase your productivity & progress with your research document. 

But why do academicians face writer’s block?

  • Fear of rejection from the supervisor 
  • Perfectionism
  • Fear of mediocrity
  • Continuous distraction
  • Procrastination 

Given these blend of emotional, cognitive, rhetorical and behavioural forces, arming yourself with effective strategies can help you overcome this terrifying & paralyzing effect and proceed with your research document.

      1. Begin with the big picture of your research 

One way to get rid of the writer’s block in academia is to motivate yourself (all again). Begin with your research question. Pen down ‘why is your research important?’ ‘what are its contributions?’ ‘how it can help you build your career?’. Keep your writing loose at this stage. Ignore grammatical errors and other language errors. Focus only on the importance of your research. 

      2. Review similar documents 

The mere thought of writing a lengthy piece of work acts as a major roadblock in accomplishing a research document. At this stage, refer to the previous paper or research documents similar to that of your topic. Compare your data with that of the existing ones. This will provide you with some elements that can fit in your research document. But remember, do not copy-paste the elements. Instead, take the rough idea from them and write in your own words. 

      3. Jot down ideas 

In spite of trying your best to concentrate on your writing, your mind might wander. An idea/thought might cross your head and disappear within no time. Keep a notepad with you and intrude your ideas on it. By recording the thoughts/ideas, you need not spend time in recalling them and also can address them whenever required.  

      4. Outline the sections  

Do not get overwhelmed with the collected data and the details to be included in your research document. Begin by creating an outline of each section. Further, segregate the sections by points and subpoints. If you are willing to add relevant quotations to back your arguments, include them within the outline. Once the outline is ready, add wordings to formulate your thoughts.  

      5. Write regularly 

As the saying goes, ‘practice makes a man perfect’, take out some time from your other academic activities and write whatever crosses your mind. Writing for an hour on a daily note will eliminate the starting trouble and will also train your brain.   

There is no trick that helps you get rid of the writer’s block instantly. Add the above-mentioned tips to your arsenal and beat the writer’s block.

5 Ways To Enhance Your Proposal Writing

The very first step towards writing your dissertation is writing a proposal for the same. If you want to acquire a degree, you would need to submit your dissertation. The proposal is just a small part of your dissertation related work, but it is also quite important. In case your teacher is not in agreement with your proposal, you would be required to rewrite it. Here are 5 ways in which you can enhance your proposal writing.

Concentrate on One Topic

Look at some broad topics with regards to your dissertation and then, narrow it down. Also, make sure that the topic is not so narrow that there isn’t much information on the same.

Be to the Point and Crystal Clear

You would need to be clear about the topic that you have written about in your dissertation proposal. Try explaining your topic to those friends of yours’ who are not in the academic circle. Ask them whether they are able to understand your dissertation topic. In case they simply nod at you, then you would need to revise your topic.

Discover Your Varsity Guidelines

Find out what the guidelines for writing a research proposal in your university are. You could also take the help of the internet to find out the guidelines. This will help you save a lot of effort and time.

Begin Writing Your Dissertation

In case you have already decided what topic to work on, go ahead and start working on it.

Target Your Topic

You may feel like writing a lot of things on your topic and make it look vast. Adhere to your chosen topic instead of trying to write so much so that it would form a book. Keep any excessive information for the future if you are considering writing a book at a later date.

Common problems while writing for journal publication

    No theory: it involves a lack of explanation of variable relationships.

    Concepts and operationalistaion not being in alignment with each other: this problem surfaces when the research design is not reflecting the variables under current study which could be because of differences in analysis level.

    Insufficient definition: when the authors are not explaining the meaning of their concepts, moreover when enacting a definition becomes a part of development of theory.

    Insufficient rationale-design: there are times when the manuscripts fail to explain the methods or procedures which have been used in the study. This could be size, rate of response and insufficient detail.

    Macrostructure-flow and organisation: it is important that various parts of the paper like theory, section, conclusion, methods fit into a coherent whole. Problems may arise if this does not happen.

    Not relevant to the field:  when the papers are inappropriate for the type of journal they are submitted to and can better be placed in another discipline.

    Inadequate research design: the research question that is posed by the study is not being able to be addressed by the current use of methods.

    Over engineering: there is so much concentration on methodology sometimes which becomes an end itself.

    Conclusions not in alignment: this kind of problem can occur when manuscripts where conclusions are either too short or lack complete interpretation of the findings.

Cutting up the data: when one paper under review for one journal overlaps with another paper by same writers under review for another journal, another problem of this kind comes up

Tips for Writing a Dissertation Proposal

Many people think that writing a dissertation proposal is very difficult. For writing a proposal, the student should be thorough with the topic, should perform a literature review, should have his own view of the topic under consideration, and finally, submit these results. Though this seems to be a bit difficult, the below discussed tips would certainly make the job easier.

1. The Length of the Dissertation Proposal

Many have doubts regarding the length of the dissertation proposal. Anyhow, if the key components of the proposal are included, it would extend up to about 20 pages. In fact, it is not a big issue if the proposal is some pages more or less; but it should necessarily include every major points.

2. Spending Sufficient Time for the Preparation of the Proposal

It is not advisable to prepare a dissertation proposal at the very last minute. In fact, to prepare a good dissertation proposal, it takes about six months to finish it off after selecting the topic and collecting the relevant literature related to it.

3. Conduct a Detailed Literature Review

Conducting a detailed literature review would certainly help you to understand the research topic in a broader sense. More often, there are cases where good proposals turn out to be utter failure owing to lack of proper literature review.

4. Maintain Good Rapport with the Members of the Dissertation Committee

Communicating with your committee members regularly is quite important while preparing a dissertation proposal. This would help you to update them about any changes made in the dissertation proposal as well as remain open to the advice they may give. Further, it is also advisable to collect past dissertation samples which have the approval of the advisors.

In short, by keeping the above tips in mind, you can certainly prepare a good dissertation proposal.